Introduction Few 20th century thinkers were as controversial, or as influential, as Sigmund Freud. Freud’s writings, his contributions to the field of psychology, and his therapeutic techniques have been influential not just in psychology, but in all the social sciences. At the same time, many of Freud’s theories and practices proved problematic or in need of revision. Thus, a cadre of important social science researchers the likes of Adler, Fromm, Jung, and even Skinner borrowed the best of Freud’s theories while advancing the field and study of psychology. Known as the neo-Freudians because of their revisionist approach to updating Freud’s substantive contributions, this informal group of theorists helped to refine Freudian psychoanalytic theory and methods. Some of the main themes in Neo-Freudian discourse include self-awareness, the drivers of behavior, and the application of therapeutic techniques. Self-awareness had been one of the goals of Freudian psychoanalysis. The Neo-Freudians helped show why self-awareness was important from a therapeutic standpoint. The Neo-Freudians also illuminated the drivers of human behavior in less deterministic ways than Freud. Finally, Neo-Freudian therapeutic techniques tended to be more optimistic than Freud’s methods. This paper will synthesize scholarly literature on three Neo-Freudian themes: self-awareness, the drivers of behavior, and therapeutic techniques. The Neo-Freudians capitalized on Freud’s astute analysis of unconscious motivations and personality development, while offering a more solution-focused orientation to helping clients in the process of psychotherapy.

Self-Awareness

The first theme that emerges in literature on Neo-Freudian theories is related to self-awareness. In “Executive Development and Psychoanalytic Therapy,” Axelrod (2012) focuses on self-awareness from a psychoanalytic point of view. Axelrod (2012) first describes how Freud conceptualized self-awareness. Freud differentiated between self-reflection and self-observation, showing that self-observation is defined by the relaxation of the superego. Self-reflection does not suspend the self-monitoring or judgmental processes of the superego. Moreover, Axelrod (2012) introduces important material by a contemporary of Freud, Sterba, who also demonstrated the process of self-confrontation. Self-confrontation is superego driven. Together, self-confrontation and self-observation are critical components of the psychoanalytic therapeutic process. Through psychoanalysis, the client uses techniques like free association, a type of self-observation. With the therapist’s assistance, the client uses free association to gain insight into his or her own psyche, thereby initiating a self-driven change that has the potential to transform lives. As Axelrod (2012) shows the Neo-Freudians also introduced related concepts include self-monitoring, which can be used outside of the therapeutic relationship, as well as in therapy. The Neo-Freudians helped lay the foundation for further research into how therapists can use self-awareness in career coaching and leadership development. Furthermore, Axelrod (2012) focuses on emotional awareness, which can be connected to emotional intelligence. Finally, the author suggests ways therapists can incorporate self-awareness methods and techniques.

The Drivers of Human Behavior

Hall & Lindzey (1957) show how the concept of self-realization was only implicit in Freud’s work,...

Neo-Freudians, like Alfred Adler, Eric Fromm, Karen Horney, and Harry Stack Sullivan became interested in humanistic issues like self-realization. Through an assessment of these four Neo-Freudian theorists, Hall & Lindzey (1957) reveal a second theme that emerges in the literature on Neo-Freudian theory: the drivers of human behavior. Freud believed that almost all human behavior is driven by the psychosexual developmental process. In “Social Psychological Theories: Adler, Fromm, Horney, and Sullivan,” Hall & Lindzey (1957) show how the Neo-Freudians presented the drivers of human behavior quite differently, not in terms of sexuality but more in terms of other factors like relationships and culture. Hall & Lindzey (1957) discuss Neo-Freudians like Adler, Fromm, Horney, and Sullivan and their contributions to understanding the drivers of human behavior. Building on Freud’s theories, Adler, Fromm, Horney, and Sullivan all drew from Freud’s research on the subconscious and unconscious, as well as human development. Yet instead of focusing on psychosexual stages or sexual hang-ups as driving human behavior, these four Neo-Freudian theorists stressed other psychological issues and environmental stimuli including interpersonal relationships, attachment styles, and coping mechanisms. Furthermore, Hall & Lindzey (1957) show how another major Neo-Freudian, Carl Jung, added to the discussion a deeper investigation of dreams. Jung focused on the concept of the collective consciousness, expanding on Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind. To Jung, human behavior is driven not just by childhood memories but also of the collective memories of one’s culture and social milieu. Hall & Lindzey (1957) also stress Jung’s contributions to personality theory.
Although not typically considered a Neo-Freudian, B.F. Skinner nevertheless built on Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind when considering the more mechanistic drivers of behavior. In “Looking for Skinner and Finding Freud,” Overskeid (2007) shows how Skinner’s theory of behaviorism is related to Freudian psychoanalysis. Although historians of psychology claim that Skinner is “one of the least psychoanalytic thinkers in twentieth-century psychology,” Overskeid (2007) proves that in fact, Skinner deeply admired Freud. Both Freud and Skinner believed in determinism: that human behavior was in some ways pre-determined by unconscious processes and tendencies. Both Freud and Skinner were interested in human behavior and what motivates people to act they way they do. Also, Overskeid (2007) claims that Freud and Skinner believed that human behavior could be studied empirically. Both Skinner and Freud also believed that human behavior can be changed by making the unconscious conscious. In other words, the theme of self-awareness in Neo-Freudianism is directly connected with the second theme of the drivers of human behavior. When the client in psychotherapy becomes aware of what motivates them, or what causes their habitual responses to external stimuli, then it is possible to create new habits. Psychoanalysis is the process of making the unconscious conscious. Although Skinner did not himself use the tools of psychoanalysis with clients as Freud did, Skinner did help lay the foundation for what would become cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Therapeutic Techniques

As much as Freud…